Angel's Advocate
by smilingxqueen
Summary: It has been a week since the Northern Crater incident. The group had nothing in mind right now but one particular black-haired girl only looked forward to meeting him again...her childhood friend. Cloud
1. Hope

Disclaimer: Like I said in my other fanfics, I DO NOT own anything.

A/N: This is probably my second Cloud and Tifa fanfic. Please enjoy and review!! ^^

* * *

"Its amazing he recovered….."

Tifa bitterly smiled at the people of the distant town, Mideel. It has been a week since she discovered him here, her childhood friend.

.-+-.

After they had acquired the Highwind, the crew didn't know what would happen next or where to go. They had nothing in mind; they didn't know what to do with the upcoming threat to the Planet. All was restless except for the beautiful brunette who had only one thing in mind.

"Cloud…"

Hearing his name, her teammates looked up. The boisterous leader of Avalanche straightened up and shook a fist at Tifa.

"You still thinkin 'bout 'im?" Barret's thunderous voice boomed within the cockpit that scared the living daylights out of the rookie pilots who were eavesdropping. "Get a &^%# grip, Tifa. Who knows wha' happened to 'im!"

A large mechanical moogle jumped forward with Cait Sith waving his hands up. Barret raised an eyebrow at him.

"Everything appears calm right now at Shinra. So now's the time to look for Cloud. I'm worried about him, too." Everyone averted their gaze at the toy cat. Tifa smiled at Cait Sith and mouthed a 'thank you'. The cat nodded and continued moving forward. "I wonder where Cloud is. Or could he already be…"

"Hmmm…" The red firewolf stood on four legs and began to pace the expanse of the cockpit. He gazed out of the large window of the Highwind, thoughtful. "There appears to be a small island near the Lifestream. They said the Lifestream sometimes suddenly gushes out at the south island."

Tifa's eyes sparkled at the new information that RedXIII gave out. It was to be expected from someone who has studied the Planet and had lived for over 46 years.

"I remember hearing this from Seto when I was a child, but I don't remember much else." RedXIII averted his soulful eyes to the brunette and lowered his head. "I'm sorry…Tifa."

Tifa shook her head and pointed a finger at the southernmost island in the world map. RedXIII narrowed his eyes in order to read the littlest text on the map.

"Mi…deel." He turned to Tifa with his head tilted in question. "Mideel?

"How about we go there?" She nodded, her brown eyes lightened a bit. "It's the only place we haven't gone to right? Maybe, just maybe…"

"Ya out of your friggin minds?"

Everyone turned back...just to suffocate from a screen of tobacco smoke. Mouths coughed, voices grumbled yet no one spoke out of turn to the one who has been the reason of their failing lungs.

"There's no way he coulda end up in Mideel. We left 'im in Northern Crater right?"

Barret patted Cid's shoulder (which the blonde shook off) and grinned.

"Cid's right! If that chocobo butt went any more north then he coulda fallen out in space right? The planet bein flat an all."

The crew stared at the big man with empty faces. After a long awkward moment everyone burst out laughing.

"W-W-W-What y'all laughin at? What's so damn funny, foo's?!"

Caith Sith slapped a mechanical hand on Barret's back, sniggering loudly.

"Has no one ever told you the planet is round, Barret?"

At that moment Barret's face turned crimson red from embarrassment. He grabbed the mechanical cat by the neck; veins were protruding from his face and muscles, a sure sign of anger.

"The planet is flat just like your face when I'm through with you! Aint no #$%*& cat gonna make a fool outta me!!"

As they were busy fooling around, Tifa quickly requested the pilot to set a course for Mideel. When the Highwind took a sharp turn everyone fell on their buttocks. Yuffie, who was slowly recovering from motion sickness, threw up all over the silent Turk.

"S-Sorry…"

Vincent left the room without a word with Yuffie following behind muttering a thousand apologies. The blonde pilot stood up and forcefully grabbed the rookie pilot by the collar.

"Who told you to change our course?? You little #$%!"

"I did…" Tifa whispered. She forced out a smile at everyone but an apparent tear lined her cheeks. "I'm sorry. I _am_ out of my mind."

Cid opened his mouth to argue, but seeing the brunette that way was overwhelming. He slumped to a corner and took out another cigarette.

"Do whatever &%* you want."

Barret shifted his eyes from Tifa to the other members of their group, hoping for some kind of incongruity. When he found none, he shook his fist angrily at them all. Finally, the Avalanche member threw his hands up in the air in defeat gaining some silent laughs from the other onlookers.

"Cloud…I'll find you."

.-+-.

Tifa was so busy preparing the things she'd take for her journey that she hadn't noticed that Vincent had walked in the operation room. She let out a surprised 'oh' when she saw him sulking in the shadows. The brunette smiled at the silent Turk and placed the remaining materia in her armlets.

"Too much hope is the opposite of despair."

Tifa froze as she was about to place the last materia. His voice was cold and hoarse like it held no emotion or feeling.

"An overpowering love may consume you in the end…"

She looked back to ask Vincent what his words meant but he had disappeared. Tifa sat down and pursed her lips. The words that the Turk left echoed in her mind but she didn't know why he had told her these things. Was it a foreboding of the future? She didn't know. All she knew that she was going to look for Cloud…and she is going to find him.


	2. I Found You

After a few days of traveling through air, the Highwind finally landed on the grassy plain a few meters away from the forest surrounding Mideel. Tifa faced her teammates after the engines were cut off.

"Who's coming with me?"

Barret took a step forward and grinned.

"If that chocobo head really is there I'm gonna blow his &*#% ass to smithereens after being %$& missin!!"

Vincent stepped out from the shadows and solemnly looked at Tifa and Barret.

"I'll go…" He lowered his head. "I need fresh air…to take away the smell."

The brunette smiled widely and they took off from the Highwind. They fought a couple of monsters as they went through the thick forest. A few hours after, they reached the quiet town of Mideel. Upon arriving, Tifa quickly noticed a stray dog whimpering near the entrance of the town. She approached it slowly and knelt.

"What's the matter? Are you all alone?" She gently patted its nose and smiled. "You got lost didn't you? Separated from someone you love…? Silly thing…"

"…guess its been a week now since he washed up here on the shore… poor pokey-headed young thing…"

Tifa looked back and saw two townsmen talking gravely. She felt something from deep within her heart stir up. Tifa shrugged the feeling off and returned her attention to the dog.

"It was really sad…but weird. He was holding this really long sword.."

She didn't mean to pry but the last words struck her heart.

_Really long sword…? Could it be?_ She pursed her lips in thought. _It could be anybody. Anybody could hold long swords these days…_

"I dunno…the whole thing feels unlucky to me. But the amazing thing was those weird blue eyes…"

"Wha!?" Tifa gasped and stood up. She ran to the men, her heart was beating fast. "W-Wait a minute!! What did you just say!?"

The men looked at her with scared and dubious faces. Tifa inhaled deeply to calm herself down. It was not a good thing to scare these people off, especially when they know something she needed to find out. She approached them slowly with a friendly smile on her face.

"Excuse me… That young person you were just talking about…"

"Yeah…" He raised an eyebrow and shrugged. "A villager found him a little ways down the coast. It was about a week ago I think."

"Yeah…poor kid." The other man crossed his arms and shook his head. "He must've drifted from somewhere pretty far away."

Tifa could hear the blood pulsing in and out of her brain. The current was so fast that she felt she was going to faint. Her knees were beginning to lose its strength, but she stood tall. The brunette turned to her friends with all kinds of mixed emotions shown in her face.

"Cloud! It must be! It's Cloud!"

Barret and Vincent stared at Tifa unbelievingly. He had no ship to sail in and why, of all places, did he land on the southernmost island of the planet? How could he have lived after falling in the Lifestream? It was an even greater miracle that he had survived from all the events that happened.

"You sure!?" Barret exclaimed.

Vincent straightened and exhaled softly.

"You've found him."

Tifa beamed at them and turned to the two men.

"So where is he? Is he safe? Where is he now?"

"Yeah… up ahead here…" The man rubbed the back of his head and pointed at a lone building that was on top of a hill. "…at the, uh, clinic…"

"Cloud… he's alive…" Tifa held a hand at her beating heart. She still couldn't believe that she would find him here, and alive! She was so happy she could cry. There were so many things she wanted to tell him, so many things. "Cloud's alive!"

Without looking back, the brunette ran towards the building, calling only one name.


	3. Sorrow

"Cloud!"

"Uh… Yo, Tifa!"

Barret had called out to her as she dashed on without them. She was looking ahead, only ahead. Upon arriving at the clinic, Tifa's eyes scanned the whole room in search for a spiky blonde head.

"Cloud?"

Her heart was beating frantically of the exhaustion of running. She felt her knees shake and tremble. When Tifa was about to take a step forward, a glint came from the shadows of the clinic. The brunette crossed her eyebrows and held her fists up in a defensive position. Tifa was about to scream and attack but she stopped herself when a person appeared from beneath the shade. He was wearing a white lab coat, a stethoscope hung from his neck and glasses covered his eyes. The man moved his eyeglasses as he stared at Tifa from head to foot.

"Here now. The way you're running around here you'd think Meteor fell or something."

Tifa sighed heavily and thanked heavens for not attacking the old man. She smiled at him while looking around the whole clinic.

"I'm sorry, but I heard that a friend of mine was being taken care of here."

"A friend…?"

The doctor raised a bushy eyebrow and rubbed his moustache. Tifa watched him make funny faces as he thought thoroughly. After a few moments, the doctor lowered his eyes to the ground. Understanding the gesture, Tifa pursed her lips in disappointment. She was about to step back when the doctor flew his eyes to the heavens, his glasses gleaming brightly.

"Oh yeah…! That young fellow!? Don't worry. Your friend is next door." The doctor beamed widely at her and pointed at the door beside her. He lowered his gaze once again but this time it held bad news. "But I'm afraid his condition is…"

"Here?" Tifa didn't seem to care what the doctor wanted to say because she already grabbed the knob of the door. She nodded at the doctor and turned the handle. "Over here."

The brunette opened the door and went inside to find a wide room with empty beds. She ventured from the door into the breadth of the open area. In a corner was a nurse with a patient sitting on a wheelchair. Tifa stepped closer, recognizing a spike of blonde hair.

"Cloud…!?"

The nurse walked behind the wheelchair and brought it forward. Barret, Vincent and the doctor all rushed in the room following after Tifa. Tears were building up in Tifa's eyes as the wheelchair came before her. Barret and Vincent's eyes widened at the sight of the blonde. It was true! He was alive! Relief washed over them for they knew their friend was safe.

"Oh… Cloud!!" Tifa approached the wheelchair with tears falling down her cheeks. "I'm so glad you're safe…"

"Uh…" Cloud slowly raised his eyes to Tifa's. His empty gaze shifted from Barret to Vincent and went back to Tifa. "…aaa….?"

His blue eyes spun around the room as if no one was there. Tifa blinked so many times at his strange action and she tried to force out a smile.

"W-What's wrong… Cloud…?" Her voice broke as she spoke his name.

"A…" The blonde waved his head from side to side and looked everywhere. "Gurk…?"

Tifa's breathing was hoarse as she lightly touched Cloud's hand. The blonde stared at her face blankly then suddenly flicked her hand away. Fresh tears began to gather at the end of the brunette's eyes as she caressed her hand.

"Cloud! What happened to you…!?"

"Mako poisoning… Quite an advanced case…"

At those words, Tifa could feel her knees give in to shock. The nurse steadied her weakening body as the doctor explained further.

"It appears this young man's been exposed to a high level of Mako energy for a protracted period of time. He probably has no idea who or where he is now…" The doctor shook his head as he watched Cloud looking at his hands and at the ceiling. "Poor fellow, his voice doesn't even work. He is literally miles away from us. Some place far away where no one's ever been… All alone…"

Tifa shook from the nurses' arms and faced the old man with concern all over her face.

"Doctor!!"

"That's bad…" A hoarse voice that belonged to the Avalanche member whispered.

Inhaling deeply, Barret shook his head and crossed his arms in front of his chest. Vincent stayed in the shadows but his eyes were locked to Cloud's vacant expression. Shifting her gaze from every discouraged face in the room and, finally, at Cloud, Tifa fell on her knees at the blonde's feet. The shock was too much for her to bear.

"Cloud…"

A long silence befell upon the room as everyone continued to watch Cloud's state. The doctor's gaze was on the beautiful brunette and he understood that she needed time with the patient alone.

"Ahem! Let us excuse ourselves." The doctor spread his arms blocking Tifa and Cloud from the worried stares of their friends. "Listen, would you all mind waiting outside?"

The stoic Turk went out first followed by Barret who took a last glimpse at Cloud. The nurse followed Barret and lastly the doctor who closed the door. Once she heard the door clicked shut, Tifa burrowed her head into Cloud's lap—drowning in her tears and silent cries.


End file.
